PALM COAST, Fla. (January 19, 2024) – Who doesn’t love Fridays? Chloe Long’s got a little bit sweeter when she was surprised with the news that she was among six students selected in the state of Florida to be a Take Stock in Children Leaders 4 Life Fellow.
The Flagler-Palm Coast High School senior becomes just the second Flagler Schools student in the history of the program to be selected.
The first?
Her brother Dylan Long in 2022.
Surrounded by mom Amy, her siblings and grandparents Tim “Taco” Smith and Linette “Bob” Smith, it was almost too good to be true.
“It was amazing when Dylan got it two years ago but now to have Chloe get it, it’s just unbelievably amazing,” said Linette Smith. “It’s just tears of joy. It’s going to help them so much because she’s a single mom.”
Administered through the Flagler County Education Foundation, the Take Stock in Children program pairs a mentor with a student for their four years of high school. For Chloe Long, that mentor was Flagler County Judge Andrea Totten, on hand for the announcement.
“I’m so glad that I got to be her mentor,” said Totten, praising Chloe’s maturity.
“She’s made it really easy on me. She’s a great student, she’s a great person, she’s involved in the community, she’s involved in all kinds of activities at school. We meet, I’d like to think she’s getting something out of it but you know, I’m getting three-fold back. It’s such an honor to be her mentor.”
With 75 in the program, and 25 set to graduate, Flagler County Education Foundation Executive Director Teresa Rizzo hopes to see the program continue to grow with the support of community.
“We are absolutely honored and thrilled that Chloe is the second sibling in a family to receive this,” said Rizzo. “I know that there have been other siblings but never a brother-sister who have received it.”
“Out of 100 applicants across the state to be selected as a finalist of six, and this opportunity she gets to have leadership training, a college scholarship for four years, and she’s already received a laptop, it’s just such a great opportunity for her.”
The timing was especially poignant for Teresa Rizzo, whose husband Joe Rizzo served as the foundation’s executive director before his passing two years ago. Joe was passionate about the foundation’s work and made it a mission to grow the Take Stock in Children program alongside philanthropists Peter and Sue Freytag. Teresa received the notification of Chloe’s selection the day before the announcement, on Joe’s birthday.
“To know that we are giving students who are probably first-generation college students in their family an opportunity to succeed and accomplish their goals, and then come back to our community and give back to us, it’s just priceless,” she said.
“I had to call Caroline and tell her because her daddy would be so thrilled,” she said through tears. “Dylan winning was Joe’s highlight and for Chloe to get it yesterday on his birthday was just fantastic.”
Celebrating the Long family’s achievements, there’s one sibling left who is also following in her older siblings’ footsteps.
“Dylan has always been a good role model. When he won the scholarship and he was the first person in Flagler County to win the scholarship, it was a huge deal then and it was just like ‘I want to be like him’,” shared Chloe.
“Ever since then, just watching him go through the program, he did IB like I did, he did Take Stock just like I am. I’m not trying to be him, but a lot of the things he did academically, I’ve followed in his footsteps because he paved such a great pathway.”
Chloe says she was inspired by Dylan’s example and her younger sister Brianna is working hard to live up the example set for her.
